World Liberty Financial’s token sale, launched on Tuesday, has seen a sluggish start despite significant anticipation and support from US Presidential candidate Donald Trump. So far, only 4% of the total token sale target has been met, raising around $11 million.

In a heated debate for the Massachusetts Senate seat on October 15, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and her Republican challenger, John Deaton, clashed over crypto regulation. Warren accused Deaton of putting the interests of the crypto industry above those of working-class Americans.

On October 16, a16z Crypto, the cryptocurrency-focused arm of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), released its "State of Crypto Report 2024". This report identifies seven critical takeaways, showcasing how the space is advancing.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Trump-Backed WLFI Token Sale Underwhelms with 4% of Target Raised in First 24 Hours
• Elizabeth Warren and John Deaton Clash Over Crypto in Heated Senate Race Debate
• Crypto Activity Hits All-Time High Led by Solana’s 100M Active Addresses: a16z Report
• Chart of the Week: Largest Returns for High-Volume Assets Since October 2023

Trump-Backed WLFI Token Sale Underwhelms with 4% of Target Raised in First 24 Hours

World Liberty Financial’s token sale, launched on Tuesday, has seen a sluggish start despite significant anticipation and support from US Presidential candidate Donald Trump. So far, only 4% of the total token sale target has been met, raising around $11 million.

The project aims to raise $300 million by selling 20 billion WLFI tokens, but just 792.36 million tokens have been sold to date, with nearly 9,000 investors participating. The launch was affected by technical issues, with the platform experiencing multiple outages during its first hour, a period in which 344 million tokens were sold to approximately 3,000 wallets.

While Trump’s announcement of the sale on social media led to an additional 180 million tokens sold, it failed to generate a significant surge in demand. On average, investors have bought less than $1,000 worth of WLFI tokens, and an Ethereum wallet connected to the project holds around $8 million in ETH and $3 million in other tokens, mostly stablecoins.

The WLFI token is a non-transferable governance token designed for participation in decentralized finance activities like borrowing, lending, and creating liquidity pools. This limitation on resale or speculation may have dampened interest in the token, which is common in projects where investors seek to sell at a higher value in the future.

Traders generally view a Trump win as positive for the crypto industry, especially compared to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, who is seen as less crypto-friendly. According to Polymarket, Trump is currently a strong favorite to win the election, with a 59% chance compared to 40% for Harris.

Elizabeth Warren and John Deaton Clash Over Crypto in Heated Senate Race Debate

In a heated debate for the Massachusetts Senate seat on October 15, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and her Republican challenger, John Deaton, clashed over crypto regulation. Warren accused Deaton of putting the interests of the crypto industry above those of working-class Americans, claiming that 90% of his campaign funding came from the crypto sector. She argued that if Deaton were elected, he would be expected to prioritize the needs of his "crypto buddies" over the people.

A well-known critic of digital assets, Warren reiterated her concerns about crypto, saying it facilitates illegal activities such as money laundering and human trafficking. She advocated for applying the same regulations to cryptocurrencies as traditional financial institutions, emphasizing her anti-money laundering bill targeting miners, validators, and wallet providers.

Deaton, a staunch advocate for crypto, countered Warren’s claims by highlighting crypto’s role in empowering marginalized individuals. He shared a personal story about how Bitcoin helped his mother, who had struggled with predatory banking fees, gain financial independence.

Known for his involvement in the SEC v. Ripple case, Deaton argued that he has worked to protect small investors from regulatory overreach and credited his advocacy with influencing a $1 million donation from Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen to Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign.

Throughout the debate, Deaton criticized Warren’s focus on attacking crypto rather than addressing pressing economic issues such as inflation. He questioned why she wasn’t channeling the same energy into tackling inflation, which he said affects working-class Americans more directly.

Crypto Activity Hits All-Time High Led by Solana’s 100M Active Addresses: a16z Report

a16z Crypto, the cryptocurrency-focused arm of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), recently released its "State of Crypto Report 2024,” which identifies seven critical takeaways showcasing how the space is advancing.

First, the report emphasizes that crypto activity has hit unprecedented levels, with September 2024 seeing a record 220 million active blockchain addresses. Secondly, crypto has become a significant political issue ahead of the U.S. election, influencing discussions among policymakers. Third, stablecoins have successfully found product-market fit, proving to be a vital component in digital finance.

The fourth key takeaway centers around the improvement of blockchain infrastructure, which has drastically increased capacity and reduced transaction costs. Fifth, decentralized finance (DeFi) is expanding, showing continued popularity and growth among users.

Sixth, the report suggests that scalable infrastructure is unlocking new on-chain applications, opening doors to innovative use cases. Finally, a16z predicts that crypto may play a pivotal role in addressing some of AI’s most pressing challenges.

In terms of crypto activity, Solana led the way in September 2024 with 100 million active addresses, followed by NEAR, Base, Tron, and Bitcoin. Solana also experienced the largest growth in developer interest, with its share doubling from last year.

Ethereum continues to attract the highest percentage of developers, but Solana and Base are quickly catching up. Mobile wallet adoption also surged to an all-time high, with 29 million users globally as of June 2024. Despite this surge, a16z estimates there are only 30 to 60 million monthly active crypto users, reflecting significant growth potential in the years ahead.

Chart of the Week: Largest Returns for High-Volume Assets Since October 2023

The cryptocurrency market saw a significant upward surge over the past year, and looking at the top 100 assets by trading volume reveals some notable rises far beyond BTC’s performance.

Bitcoin’s rally into new all-time highs started last October, which set the stage for the ongoing bullish trend, which has seen memecoins like PEPE and FLOKI post returns of 1,501% and 698%, respectively, while Solana rose 599%, a notable rise considering its large market cap.

On the other hand, CRV, ATOM, and ARB were among the weakest performers, with declines of 39%, 32%, and 30%, respectively, since October 14, 2023.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

Build your project with CCDATA

Terms | Privacy

13 Charles II St, SW1Y 4QU

London, UK

This email may include advertisements by third parties. None of the advertised or promoted products and services have been verified or approved by us and this email is not any endorsement by us of the third party or of their products or services.